Great Seto Bridge (Seto Ohashi)

The Great Seto Bridge, known in Japanese as the Seto Ohashi, is one of the country's defining feats of modern engineering and the landmark that anchors Kurashiki's southern coast. Stretching roughly thirteen kilometres from the Kojima district on Honshu to Sakaide on Shikoku, it is actually a chain of six major bridges strung across five small islands of the Seto Inland Sea. It holds the distinction of being the world's longest two-tiered bridge system carrying both road and rail, with an expressway on the upper deck and railway tracks running below.

The project was extraordinary in ambition. Construction began in 1978 and took a full decade of work before the bridge opened on 10 April 1988, finally giving Honshu and Shikoku a fixed link after centuries of dependence on ferries. The combination of suspension, cable-stayed and truss bridges was designed to withstand the tidal currents and earthquakes of the inland sea, and the structure is so vast that it is famously said to be visible from space. Its completion transformed travel and trade across the region and turned Kojima into the gateway between the two islands.

For visitors, the bridge can be enjoyed in three ways: viewed, crossed or explored from below. The classic view is from Mount Washu, whose summit frames the entire span sweeping toward Shikoku, particularly beautiful at sunset when the towers glow against the sea. Crossing the bridge by train is a memorable experience in itself, as the JR Marine Liner glides on the lower deck with the water opening out on both sides between the great suspension towers. Beneath the Honshu anchorage lies the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park, where you can stand almost directly under the roaring spans and appreciate their scale.

A notable detail is that the bridge was engineered from the outset to carry a possible future Shinkansen line, and space was reserved within the structure for high-speed tracks that have never been laid. On summer weekends and holidays the bridge is illuminated after dark, its cables tracing luminous curves across the black water, a sight best appreciated from Washuzan or the memorial park.

The site is easy and free to enjoy, requiring only a train fare if you wish to ride across. Viewing points below and around the bridge are level and accessible, with restrooms and parking, though the more dramatic overlooks such as Washuzan involve some uphill walking. There is no admission charge simply to see or photograph the structure.

Getting there centres on Kojima, the last station on Honshu before the crossing and part of Kurashiki city. Frequent JR Marine Liner services run from Okayama Station through Kojima and out over the bridge toward Sakaide and Takamatsu, making a round trip across the sea a simple half-day outing. To combine views with the crossing, ride to Kojima Station and connect by local bus to Washuzan or walk down to the memorial park beneath the anchorage, where the bridge's engineering can be admired from directly below.